Pizza Express king heads for bar

One of Britain’s most prolific restaurant investors has taken a 50% stake in a popular chain of London bars.

Luke Johnson, known for backing brands such as Giraffe and Patisserie Valerie, will become chairman of Grand Union and help it to expand. It currently has eight outlets and wants to more than double that.

It is undisclosed how much Johnson, who made his first fortune bringing Pizza Express to the stock market, is paying for the stake. He is making the investment personally rather than via Risk Capital Partners, the private equity firm he chairs.

Adam Marshall, founder and chief executive of Grand Union, will continue to run the bar group. He did not sell any shares in the deal with Johnson.